Page 7 - CUHK MEDICAL ALUMNI Newsletter Issue 2 Vol 4 2016

FEATURES
06

LIVER SPECIALIST'S OUTREACH WORK

GIVES HER INVALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO

NEW PROGRAMMES AND

CLINICAL PRACTICE

here is a saying… “Be careful
Twhat you wish for”. But in the “Interaction with people outside the ward often
case of Professor Grace Wong, she helps me to think how I can…change my clinical
said she was “super fortunate” that
her wish came true…and that was practice to help patients.”
to join the Department of Medicine
and Therapeutics of The Chinese - Professor Grace Wong Lai-hung
University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
（黃麗虹教授, MBChB 2001）
Professor Wong recalled how
s o i m p r e s s e d s h e w a s w i t h
Professor Joseph Sung, the current
Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, and 2009 by her mentor, Professor Henry can come up with new programmes
Professor Francis Chan, who’s now Chan, called “New Life New Liver” or change my clinical practice to
the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, where doctors would reach out to help patients.”
during her clinical clerkship at intravenous drug users through health With her impressive array of community
the Depar tment ’s Division of talks and free blood tests. services and research work, it was no
Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Professor Wong recalls how, through wonder that her mentor, Professor
“I was a junior medical clerk at the time, this programme, she befriended Henry Chan, texted her one night about
learning how to talk to patients, take a former drug user and managed applying for the 2014 Ten Outstanding
their history and other clinical stuff,” she to persuade him to undergo major Young Persons Award. She did not think
said. “That’s when I personally met the surgery for his liver cancer. “I wasn't his she stood a chance but decided to try
professors and saw how kind they were surgeon but when I bumped into him anyway, and much to her surprise and
to patients and students and how in hospital and heard that he delight, she won.
knowledgeable they were. refused surgery, I spoke
to him. After several Professor Wong says young
“I started to think, wow, talks, he relented doctors must be aware
it would be so fortunate and to this day, he that because of the
if I got the chance to is cancer-free. This heavy workload, they
work with them. And, I is so rewarding,” can appear “monotonic”
was also very keen on she said. when dealing with
gastroenterology and patients. “We have to
hepatology.” Professor Wong try to understand their
is currently the worries and concerns,
When she finally joined the president of AsiaHep because every patient
Department as an academic Hong Kong - a non- is different.”
in 2011, Professor Wong already governmental organisation for
had an impressive CV under her belt. liver diseases. She can sometimes be
She was a very junior doctor when she seen at public venues, giving seminars
had her first research paper published and free blood checks. She says it is
on primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) with satisfying to see how people react when
Professor Henry Chan in 2005. She they discover they do not have
had also worked for the Hospital hepatitis, with some admitting
Authority for 10 years. they had never heard of the

Besides her clinical duties and research disease before.
work, she is also heavily involved in “Interaction with people
community service. For example, she outside the ward often
helps out in a programme started in helps me to think how I